Strauss, the German word for ostrich, is also the surname of a number of notable figures:
- Claude Levi-Strauss, anthropologist
- Cristoph Strauss (around 1580 - 1631), composer
- Eduard Strauss (1835 - 1916), composer, son of Johann I
- Franz Strauss (1822 - 1905), horn player and composer
- Ida Straus, died in in the sinking of the Titanic, wife of Isadore
- Isadore Straus, owner of R.H. Macy Co
- Johann Strauss I (1804 - 1849), composer, popularizer of the waltz
- Johann Strauss II (1825 - 1899), composer, son of Johann I, known as the "Waltz King"
- Johann Strauss III (1866 - 1939), composer, son of Eduard
- Josef Strauss (1827 - 1870), composer, son of Johann I
- Leo Strauss, political philosopher of Straussianism
- Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949), composer, son of Franz